The Way Back | ✓

7.1

note: double updates weekly, every Wednesday and Saturday henceforth! I'm so excited to share the rest of the story with you guys. The drama is building up now. This was a bit of difficult chapter to write so please do leave your thoughts/feedback in the comments. I'd love to hear what you think. And vote if you enjoy the chapter <3 

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Talia fucking Lancaster was truly going to be the death of him.

He had gotten into his car after leaving his flat, called Talia who told him she was on her way to work, and now he stood in her office, seething as she sat on her chair, expression smug like she was enjoying this.

Andrew was on his feet, the anger in his system making him jittery. He couldn't sit down even if he wanted to.

"It's as simple as that really," Talia said, matter-of-factly. "We'll be moving to Ipswich soon. Simon, Aurora and I. What don't you get?"

"What don't I get?" Andrew echoed with disbelief. "You're taking my daughter away from me."

She pouted at him but her eyes gleamed with victory. Ten years with this woman and he could read her like an open book. "You know I couldn't do that even if I want to," she said, a hint of disappointment laced through her voice.

"Which you do."

"Excuse me?"

"You want to take Aurora away from me. Just admit it. That's why you're moving away. Ipswich is three hours away!"

Her facial expressions were hard, stoic even, but Andrew knew how to read her, knew that she was only challenging him because she felt like she had already won. "And you'll undoubtedly travel all that way to see your daughter. I don't see the problem here."

"You don't see the problem?" he exclaimed, his blood burning through his veins. "How are you failing to see the problem?"

"If you can sit down and get your shit together, maybe then you can explain why this is pissing you off so much. I didn't realise you never wanted to see me happy ever again." Her words were salty and they made him want to bash his head against a wall. Leave it to Talia to twist his emotions and words to suit her arguments.

Instead of throwing an angry fit like he wanted to, he took her advice and sat down on the chair opposite to her by her desk and looked down at his hands. His fingers subconsciously played with his wedding band ring, something he did when he was nervous but fuelled up at the same time. London was the one who pointed that out to him.

"Talia," he started, his voice low like that would somehow level out the rage that thundered within him. "You're saying that I can no longer pick my daughter up from school and drop her home. You're saying I have to travel for three hours to come to see my daughter on the weekends. That's reducing the amount of time I get to spend with her. And travelling every weekend? Come on, Talia. I'm certain you can see that this is insensible too."

He didn't care if the desperation leaked through his voice. Maybe if she finally picked up on how desperate he was then she would be lenient or even pitiful enough to stay.

"And what about me, Andy?"

Her question confused him. "What do you mean?"

"I want to move away from Porte Orlands. Simon has connections in Ipswich as you well know. We could both easily settle there. And Aurora, we can't alternate with parenting her each week because she has to go to one school and—"

"Of course that school has to be in Ipswich, where you're at," he bitterly sliced in. "Whatever happened to shared custody, huh?"

"Andrew," she said, her voice final. This was something she wasn't going to budge on, something she'd been thinking about for a while. He could see it in her face and he could hear it in her voice.